Books for Preschoolers - Gordon In Charge
🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop
- 🔢 Story Structure Understanding — Following a story's arc — beginning, problem, resolution, ending — builds the narrative schema that makes complex texts comprehensible and supports children's own storytelling and writing development.
- 😊 Love of Reading — Every positive reading experience — a funny book, an exciting story, a perfectly timed cuddle — builds the reading identity and intrinsic motivation that sustains literacy development through the independent reading years.
- 🖼️ Visual Literacy — Reading pictures — interpreting what they show, what details they add, how they relate to the words — develops visual literacy: the ability to extract meaning from images that underlies comprehension of graphs, diagrams, and media.
- 🗣️ Language Fluency — Exposure to the complex sentence structures, rich vocabulary, and varied grammatical patterns of written language — more complex than everyday speech — builds linguistic fluency that distinguishes strong readers and communicators.
Gordon In Charge
Written by Jill Newton
From the Book
"Gordon was a bossy goat who thought he was in charge of the farm. When Gordon gave orders the other animals obeyed (for a quiet life). 'Heads down, and CHEW! Keep in line, you scruffy bunch of sheep!'." About the Book
Gordon In Charge is a book about a goat named Gordon who bosses all the animals on the farm, until one day, a goose named Gordon arrives at the farm. The two Gordons compete with each other to determine who will be called Gordon and who will be in charge of the farm. When they get themselves in trouble, both Gordons realize that maybe being in charge isn't so great after all.
From the Reviewer
Gordon In Charge is funny story with a lesson to be learned. These crazy Gordons suggest one competition after another to try to beat out the other at who will be in charge of the farm. They get so hung up in their competition that they end up the two most helpless animals on the farm - until another Gordon comes along and saves them.
Gordon In Charge is a clever story that sends the message to children that it's much more fun to get along than to boss others around. The surprise ending will have your preschooler chuckling - a new Gordon saves Gordon the Goat and Gordon the Goose and sets them straight just who really is in charge of the farm!
My son and I give
Gordon In Charge three out of four bossy Gordons!
Book Details
Title:
Gordon In Charge
Reading level: Ages 4 - 8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books; 1st Us edition (August 4, )
Language: English
ISBN: 1582348235
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I'm
Stacey Lloyd, the Executive Editor and one of many writers for PreschoolRock.com. I enjoy writing about preschoolers, and reading your ideas and experiences with your preschooler. If you have any suggestions, ideas or questions about this site, please
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Helpful Tips for Parents
- Let children choose books. Even if they always choose the same book, following their interest builds the reading habit more reliably than adult selection.
- A library card is the most valuable free resource a family can have. Regular library visits — every week or two — build book culture at zero cost.
- Read nonfiction books alongside fiction. Nonfiction expands vocabulary with domain-specific words that fiction rarely delivers, and builds informational reading habits.
- Wordless picture books (The Snowman, Tuesday, Flotsam) develop narrative comprehension, story structure understanding, and visual literacy — without any words at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my preschooler interested in books if they're not naturally drawn to them?
Start with books about the child's existing interests — if they love trucks, find every truck book in the library. Read with physical engagement: let them turn pages, point to objects, make sound effects. Short books work better than long ones for reluctant readers. Reading in highly comfortable, cozy circumstances (snuggled together, with a special reading snack) creates positive association with books. Never force prolonged reading against clear resistance — a 2-minute positive experience beats a 10-minute battle. Most children become enthusiastic book-lovers given sustained positive exposure over months.
My preschooler wants the same book read over and over. Should I allow this?
Absolutely — repeated reading of favorite books is both normal and highly beneficial. With each reading, children understand more: they catch details they missed, connect the story to new experiences, and increasingly delight in predicting what happens next. The request to re-read is a sign of deep engagement, not a cognitive limitation. Never replace a requested re-read with a book you've chosen — follow the child's reading lead. Boredom with a book you've read 30 times doesn't mean the child is bored.
Related reading: See also our library tips guide and our picture books for empathy for more ideas on this topic.
